Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Ligand Binding Sites

Ligand Binding Sites

Proteins are dynamic macromolecules that carry out a wide variety of essential processes; however, the activities of most proteins depend on their interactions with other molecules or ions, known as ligands.
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

CD4+ cell count trends after common cancers in people with HIV: a multicohort collaboration.

AIDS (London, England)·2026

Same author

[Vaccination of immunocompromised individuals: Expert opinion - update 2026].

Wiener klinische Wochenschrift·2026

Same author

Bifunctional glycolipids targeting TLR4·MD-2 and short pentraxins.

RSC chemical biology·2026

Same author

Autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFNs in 40% of patients with WNV encephalitis in seven new cohorts.

Journal of human immunity·2026

Same author

Evaluation of small molecule PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in a T cell reporter system.

Biochemical pharmacology·2026

Same author

Nucleotide-resolution mapping of regulatory elements via allelic readout of tiled base editing.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Large-scale discovery and annotation of substructure patterns in mass spectrometry profiles.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Salmonella SopB suppresses post-transcriptionally regulated cytokine release to reduce early tissue inflammation and delay disease progression.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

A human-specific microRNA controls the timing of excitatory synaptogenesis.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

An HMA-like integrated domain in the wheat tandem kinase WTK4 recognises an RNase-like pathogen effector.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Learning regularities in noise engages both neural predictive activity and representational changes.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

The H3K4 methyltransferase KMT2D is an essential cofactor for GATA1 at erythroid gene enhancers.

Nature communications·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Extracellular Protein Microarray Technology for High Throughput Detection of Low Affinity Receptor-Ligand Interactions

Extracellular Protein Microarray Technology for High Throughput Detection of Low Affinity Receptor-Ligand Interactions

Published on: January 7, 2019

Interrogating ligand-receptor interactions using highly sensitive cellular biosensors.

Maximilian A Funk¹, Judith Leitner², Marlene C Gerner³

¹Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Division for Immune Receptors and T cell activation, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Nature Communications

|November 28, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

We developed sensitive cellular biosensors to study membrane protein interactions, offering a cost-effective and physiologically relevant method for drug discovery and biological research.

More Related Videos

Real-time Monitoring of Ligand-receptor Interactions with Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

Real-time Monitoring of Ligand-receptor Interactions with Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

Published on: August 20, 2012

Measuring Transcellular Interactions through Protein Aggregation in a Heterologous Cell System

Measuring Transcellular Interactions through Protein Aggregation in a Heterologous Cell System

Published on: May 22, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Extracellular Protein Microarray Technology for High Throughput Detection of Low Affinity Receptor-Ligand Interactions

Extracellular Protein Microarray Technology for High Throughput Detection of Low Affinity Receptor-Ligand Interactions

Published on: January 7, 2019

Real-time Monitoring of Ligand-receptor Interactions with Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

Real-time Monitoring of Ligand-receptor Interactions with Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

Published on: August 20, 2012

Measuring Transcellular Interactions through Protein Aggregation in a Heterologous Cell System

Measuring Transcellular Interactions through Protein Aggregation in a Heterologous Cell System

Published on: May 22, 2020

Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Cell Biology
Immunology

Background:

Membrane protein interactions are crucial therapeutic targets.
Current methods for studying these interactions are often expensive, labor-intensive, or lack physiological relevance.
A need exists for sensitive and adaptable tools to investigate these vital cellular processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce a novel, highly sensitive cellular biosensor platform for studying receptor-ligand interactions.
To demonstrate the versatility and applicability of this platform across various research domains.
To provide a more accessible and physiologically relevant method for analyzing membrane protein interactions.

Main Methods:

Development of fluorescent reporter cells expressing chimeric receptors.
Integration of ectodomains from cell surface molecules and intracellular signaling domains.
Application of the platform for characterizing immune checkpoints, detecting receptors/ligands, and evaluating viral protein interactions.

Main Results:

The cellular biosensor platform demonstrates high sensitivity for detecting receptor-ligand interactions.
The platform successfully integrates a wide range of molecules for diverse applications.
Demonstrated utility in characterizing immune checkpoints and probing cells for specific receptors or ligands.
Effective in evaluating viral protein-host receptor interactions and assessing drug neutralization capabilities.

Conclusions:

Cellular biosensors offer a versatile and sensitive tool for studying membrane protein interactions.
This platform provides a valuable alternative to existing methods, enhancing research efficiency and physiological relevance.
The technology has broad applicability in drug discovery, immunology, and virology research.